The best automotive Easter eggs on Google Street View

Google Maps lets you tour the factories and museums of Lamborghini, McLaren, Pagani, and even Honda, to name just a few

Can't make it out to the Lamborghini Museum in Italy? Want to sit in a Sesto Elemento? Google has you covered

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Google Street View is something of a saviour for those who are prone to getting lost, but beyond its well-intended efforts to help the directionally challenged, Street View has its fair share of Easter eggs.

Beyond random sightings of the Tardis, Street View also makes it exponentially easier for automotive enthusiasts to tour the factories, museums and racetracks of their dreams without having to spend a pretty penny to get there.

Sure, it’s no replacement for actually paying a visit and experiencing it first-hand, but these Street View Easter eggs for gearheads certainly bridge the gap between dream and reality.

Opportunities to tour a building as exclusive as the Pagani workshop in San Cesario Sul Panaro, Italy, is a rare opportunity. That’s why we’re a little envious of the Google employee who got to photograph this surprisingly humble space. As soon as you “walk” inside, you’re met with a blue Huayra and the company’s ubiquitous 7.3-litre engine on display. Click around some more and Street View shows the rest of the space in surprisingly close detail. But the best part has to be when you click around the Huayra and the Zonda Cinque — that’s when you can virtually sit inside the two cars.

Museo Lamborghini — Sant’agata Bolognese, Bologna, Italy

The Lamborghini museum in Sant’agata Bolognese is open to the public, but if you won’t find yourself near Bologna anytime soon, Street View has you covered. It’s decidedly bigger than the Pagani workshop, and although you can’t examine the smaller details as well as the Pagani Easter egg, Lamborghini offers a lot more variety. There are two floors you can click through and a handful of classics, concepts and limited-production models on display. Sure, you can see them in person, but can you “sit” in them? Our favourite has to be the cockpit of the Sesto Elemento.

McLaren Technology Centre — Woking, United Kingdom

This Easter egg documents most of what’s inside of the McLaren Technology Centre. The facility itself is home to assembly lines, workshops and a wind tunnel, to name just a handful of the “attractions”. Unfortunately, we’re limited to the so-called McLaren Boulevard portion, where racing and road cars built throughout McLaren’s history are on display. We can’t “sit” in any of them, but we’ll take it considering the facility is usually closed to the public. That and there’s a great view of the building’s man-made lake.

Top Gear Test Track — Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, United Kingdom

Not too far from the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking is another Street View Easter egg: the almost infamous Top Gear Test Track at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey. Admittedly, there’s not much to see, but when will you have another chance to check out the track alongside The Stig in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Black Series? As a bonus, Top Gear also released this interactive, 360-degree hot lap onboard The Stig’s SLS.

Honda Collection Hall — Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

If exotics like Lamborghini, Pagani and McLaren aren’t your thing, Google also lets you click through the three levels of the Honda Collection Hall in Tochigi, Japan. Located kitty-corner to the Twin Ring Motegi race track, you can see anything and everything inside, from Asimo robots to scooters, and from alternative-fuel compacts like the Insight to the mighty NSX-R samurai supercar. If that doesn’t satisfy your Honda fix, the museum has been open to the public since 1998.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca — Salinas, Calif., United States of America

Eventually, video games like Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport get tiring. OK, maybe not, but it’s almost universally better to check out your favourite racetracks in person. If the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca happens to be one of them and you can’t make it in person, Google has you covered once again. This time, you get to ride along one hot-lap of the 3.602-kilometre course with every corner listed and even other race cars on the track. And when you’re done, be sure to check out Suzuka Raceway in Japan, but don’t expect any racers on there.